Mining machinery



Aug. 13, 1940. H. c. McCOLLUM 2,211,241

MINING MACHINERY Filed Dec. 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet Au 13, '1940. H. c. MccoLLuM 2,2,24

MINING MACHINERY Filed Dec. 27, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 13, 1940 U TED STQES PATENT GFCLE MINING REACHINERY Application December 27, 1938, Serial No. 247354 2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in mining machinery and is particularly directed to a new combination of conveying .means which cooperate to increase the efficiency o of the output of a coalmine.

Before the use of automatic loading machinery coal was loaded by hand at the working face of the mine onto small cars which wer-'e then moved on track through the various entries or passageways to the hoist in the shaft. This shaft was relatively small and because of this fact the hoist positioned therein could accommodate only one or two of the loaded small cars. The hoist lifted the loaded cars to the surface where they were dumped and then returned.

With the development of the automatic loading machinery the new mines that were construoted were provided with large shafts and adequate conveying facilities so that per hour per' man they can produce more tonnage of coal than the older mines which are limited in their production by the small shaft which prevents uninterrupted delivery to the surface of the coal that can be loaded by the machines. consequently such old mines are unable to successfully compete with the new ones although they contain ample coal deposits.

Two obstacles prevent such old mines from stepping up their production to keep pace with the automatic loading machinery. First, the time waste involved in moving loaded small cars from the working chambers and moving empty ones in and second, the restricted size of the sha-ft which limits the size of the hoist for mov ing the loaded cars to the surface.

The invention described herein discloses means for overcoming those obstacles so as to enable such old mines to continue operation in competL tion with the newer mines by either increasing 40 production per man power or by maintaining its production with less man power'. In either case it is clear that the cost of production per ton is decreased.

The main object of this invention is to pro- 45 vide a novel combination of conveying devices for use in an old type coal mine having a relatively small main shaft whereby the tonnage of coal produced by such mine at the surface is increased per' working hour.

A further object of this invention is to utilize automatic loading machinery in old mines and provide adequate facilities for moving the mate rial so loaded to the surface without substantial cessation of the loading operation.

Still a further object of this invention is to pro vide a novel combination of means wher'eby without substantial change in the transportation facilities of a mine an increased tonnage may be moved to the surface.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel and simple arrangement of conveying devices whereby the product of a mine is efficiently moved from the working face to the surface.

Other' uses and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a diagrammatic planiview of a mine utilizing the invention herein described.

Fig; 2 is a sectional View taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan View of a portion of a mine illustrating another embodiment of this invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along line l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

In detail, i indicates the vertical shaft leading to the surface and having novably mounted ther'ein an elevator or hoist 2. A passageway or entry 3 leads from the shaft and tracks l are laid the'ein for small cars 5 which are movable thereon into` the hoist 2.

Sidings and switches or short lengths of double track are provided in the entries of the mine to enable loaded cars to pass empty cars, but these are not shown for they are well known to those familiar with the art. Another entry 6 is placed from entry 3 and runs substantially parallel thereto and leads to one of the working chambers T. This entry generally joins with entry 3 at some place not herein shown for in the old operation the small cars 5 would be moved from the shaft to the working face for loading. Tracks also run along this entry and into the' chamber 3 to a point adjacent a working face 8. A rotary dump 9 is positioned in entry 5 and a chute ill is positioned below rotary dump 9 so as to direct material dumped at that point onto an endless conveyor !i which leads to a point above the tracks in entry 3.

` The specific structures of the rotary dump 9 and the conveyor ll are not shown or described herein as they form no part of this invention, are in common usage and are familiar to anyone associated with the art.

, Cars I2 of substantially greater size and Capacity than cars 5 are positioned on the track in entry 8 These cars are of such size that they cannot be moved to the surface by hoist 2. They may be introduced into the mine through shaft I by being lowered from the surface endwise or they may be assembled in the entry from parts of such size as may be moved down in the hoist.

An automatic loading machine is indicated by !3 in chamber 1. This type of machine is well known to the art and comprises arms that automatically gather the mined product, such as coal, and direct it onto a conveyor that in turn directs it to the car.

Heretofore it has been the practice to run a small car such as 5 froni the bottom of the shaft l to a working chamber l, there load it, then move it out of the chamber, make the necessary switching so as to enable another empty car to be moved into the chamber, move it to the shaft bottom and onto the hoist, lift it to the surface, dump it and then return it by the hoist to the mine. It is apparent therefore that after each small car is loaded there is an appreciable space of time during which the loaders are necessarily inactive as the loaded car is moved from the chamber and an empty car is moved into the chamber. Furthermore as the distance between the Working chamber and the foot of the shaft increases more small cars are needed to move the mined product. Each extra car requires extra motive power which decreases the eiciency of production.

It therefore can readily be seen that by using the larger cars between the working faces and the rotary dump the total inactive loading period caused by the loaded and empty car transfer is decreased in direct proportion to the size of the little cars to the size of the big cars. In other words, if the Capacity of a large car is ten times that of a small car then there is only one period of inactivity after loading one large car to ten such periods after loading ten small cars in both of which cases the same tonnage would be moved. Therefore by decreasing the lost, loading time more tonnage is moved over a given period.

By connecting the two parallel entries with the conveyor i l the track distance from the working chamber and the foot of the shaft is greatly lessened and fewer small cars can eiciently move the product dumped by the conveyor into the cars in entry 3.

In operation: The automatic loading machine !3 moves coal from the working face 8 into large car !2 positioned in chamber 1. When this car is full it is moved along the track and onto rotary dump 9 where it is dumped. Chute ill directs the coal onto conveyor ll which moves it to entry 3 above a small car 5 into which it is` dumped. When this small car is filled it is moved onto the hoist 2 and lifted to the surface. Immediately it has been loaded another small car is moved to a position below the conveyor for loading. This continues until the load is moved to the surface. The large car or another one like it is of course moved back to the loading machine.

In this manner the loading machine works almost continuously and the smaller cars having such a relatively short haul can readily take care of the tonnage which is of necessity much greater than that possible if the smaller cars were used exclusively.

Figs. 3 to 5 illustrate a different arrangement or combination of conveying devices that may be utilized when the dumping point is relatively close to the bottom of a shaft. such a situation is shown in Fig. 3 in which M indicates the vertical shaft, li the entry in which the large cars l6 as hereinabove described are operated between the working faces, not shown, and the rotary dump ll. An endless conveyor l8 extends from beneath the rotary dump I 'I to a point adjacent the shaft M. A Chute !9 is positioned below the dumping machine to direct the material dumped from the cars onto the conveyor !8. Beneath the discharge end of conveyor 18 is another Chute 20 leading to the shaft 14. Gates 2! are mounted on chute 20. In shaft |4 are two skips 22 so mounted therein that when one moves from the bottom of shaft M to the surface, the other moves from the surface to the bottom. The chute 28 with its gates 2! leads to either one of the skips 22 so that whichever one is at the bottom of the shaft may be loaded. Or the skips may be so arranged that only one is loaded and dumped, the other one being merely used as a counterweight to facilitate the lifting of the skip containing the coal.

In operation: A large car is automatically loaded in a working chamber as heretofore described and is then moved from the working face to the rotary dump il' where it is dumped, the contents being' directed onto the conveyor !8. The conveyor moves the coal or mined product to a point above chute 20 and then dumps it onto the Chute and into a. skip 22. Gates 2! are used to close the chute when a skip is not in loading position and to direct the coal into the desired skip. The loaded skip is hoisted to the surface, dumped and returned for another load. In this' manner the mined product can be moved to the surface as fast as the automatic loading machines can fill the large cars therewith.

It is also noted that if coal is loaded in the first instance on small cars, there is an objectionable amount of spillage which must be shovelled by hand into cars to avoid obstruction of the runway with resulting delay in Operations.

If, for example, a large car with ten times the capacity of a small car be used, the spillage and delay will be negligible as Compared with the spillage and resulting delay from initial loading onto ten small cars.

I claim:

1. In a mine having a vertical shaft of limited cross section, a hoist therein, entries leading from the s-haft bottom to working faces, and narrow gauge track extending along the entries, the improvement for more rapidly moving mined products from the working faces to the surface that comprises in combination a loading car of greater Capacity than the hoist and too large to be moved to the surface by the hoist When loaded, said car positioned on said narrow gauge track adjacent a working face and movable on said track along an entry to a dumping point nearer the shaft, a conveyor extending from the dumping point to a delivery point at an entry still nearer the shaft, and shuttle cars of smaller capacity than the loading car and capable of being lifted by the hoist when loaded, said shuttle cars positioned and movable on the track in said entry from said delivery point onto the hoist whereby said shuttle cars can move the mined material to the surface and return While the loading car is being reloaded.

2. In a mine having a vertical shaft of limited cross section, a hoist therein, entries leading from the shaft bottom to working faces, and narrow gauge track extending along the entries, the improvement for more rapidly moving mined products from the working faces to the surface that 10 pacity equal to that of the loading car each one capable of being moved to the surface by the hoist, positioned and movable on the track in said entry from said delivery point onto the hoist whereby the material mined can be moved to the surface and the empty shuttle cars returned to the delivery point While the loading car is moved to the Working face, reloaded. and moved back to the dumping point.

HERBERT C. MCCOLLUM. 

